I could see Cassie—thinking I was hurt—letting me come to a hospital, but here? As unlikely as it seemed, the miko might have my friends under control, just as she had Tukka. But if that were so, why had Crunch given her so much trouble? His power had been tremendously boosted, but skill often wins out against brute force. As a Shinto priestess, ghosts were supposed to be her specialties. She’d been strong enough in the dream world to capture a fu dog after all. Her fluctuations in power puzzled me. I had the feeling that solving this mystery would be vital to victory.
Taliesina’s thoughts simmered into mine. Maybe, but all we can do now is to press on.
I unbuckled, opened the car door, and got out, careful not to let any mice escape along with me. I faced the Mouse Whisperer. “Thanks,” I said.
He gave me a goofy smile and waved. “See you next time.”
I shut the door and spun toward the stairs, as the black coating on the Indigo-er peeled off into assorted shadow men. The indigo station wagon pulled away, leaving me with more questions than answers. Torrent took point. The rest of my guard fell in left and right of me as I took the stairs two at a time, trying not to think of all the really bad things that could be happening to my friends.
Atop the slanted embankment, in the maw of the torii gate, Torrent crashed to a stop against a pane of thin air. He collapsed his body in the gray pre-dawn light, a standing shadow, sliding against an unseen barrier. His shadow dropped to the ground, as if there were a door he could slip under. Flat as he went, it didn’t do any good. He regained his feet and his human form, gesturing right and left. The other shadow men fanned out, trying to pass on the outside of the arch. The same unseen wall stopped them.
I went up beside Torrent and stretched my hand forward. My fingers went past the point he’d been stopped. I went forward, beyond the gate, standing on the bricks of the inner courtyard. Either the Shinto barrier wasn’t meant to stop my kind, or—
It’s a trap, Taliesina said.
“Goes without saying;” I said, “I’m cursed.”
“Grace,” Torrent called, “you can’t do this alone. Come back. We’ll figure something out.”
I turned. Taliesina looked at him through my eyes, her power unfolding in me, pooling in my right palm where a black shadow condensed into a sword. I wreathed the blade with my cold kitsune fire. I felt comforted by the light I carried. Using my lips, Taliesina answered. “We are quite frequently outnumbered, but we are never alone.”
I set my back to the torii gate and started across the courtyard toward a massive temple made of heavy timbers. It had several stories, capped by a peaked, clay tile roof, and a wraparound deck that was five feet wide. The unnatural clouds above the city had broken into tattered splotches. A crescent moon added little light. There were no lights in the building. I passed a big stone lantern that had no fire in it. Fallen leaves matting the brick courtyard and gave the place a feel of neglect.
I so need to put this place in one of my stories.
Left and right of the pagoda were a few towering oaks. Under their shelter, were much smaller trees with star-shaped leafs. Behind the trees lay thick shadows that weren’t my ally. Anything, anyone could lurk back there.
I reached the shrine. There was a massive rope suspended from the front of it, high overhead. The rope had pieces of paper attached that looked like squared-off lightning bolts. There was a small flight of wooden stairs up to the porch. Beside the steps, a deep box caged darkness with a lid of wooden bars. I leaned over the box and peered in, holding my sword up like a lantern. At the bottom of the box, a detritus of wet leaves formed a matting where a few coins glinted.
Ah, an offering box. Toss a coin and make a wish; all your dreams come true! Yeah, right.
I took some change from a pocket, found a quarter, and flipped it at the slots. I listened to it rattle through.
Couldn’t hurt.
I returned to the steps and went up them, wondering if I could cross over here if I had to. Sacred places, churches, graveyards, usually kept me from using that ability. But a place like this, with an abandoned feel—it might be possible. Then again, such a place might attract things on the other side that I wouldn’t want to meet. Demons were fond of places they could desecrate. I’d run into a demon last Halloween who’d wanted to rip my heart out and eat it. Not a good idea then. Not a good idea now. I’d avoid crossing over unless I had no choice.
The light of my flame-edged blade brought out the rich red lacquer of the wood deck and walls of the shrine. I entered past doors that had been thrown wide open for me. Come into my parlor said the miko to the pretty young fox-girl.
I passed a stone basin filled with water. A scoop lay on top of it. Some kind of holy water? Moving on, my footsteps kicked up muted echoes. The wood floor was well made, remaining silent without creaks or groans. I was in a large empty hall. As I reached the center, I caught a flash of motion from the corner of my eye. I spun and watched three shuriken whirl past my face, barely missing. The throwing stars thu-thunked into the wall behind me.
I held my sword in front of me in a protective guard, watching the advance of a woman in the midnight blue uniform of Aimi’s guards. A hood covered her head, revealing only large dark eyes that stared right through me as if I were nothing. Running, she drew her own sword. Its wavy, frosted edge swung into my own blade, trying to batter it aside and make an opening.
I collapsed the length of my sword down to twelve inches, letting her weapon pass by without resistance. My shadow sword and its coat of flame stretched to twice its former length, piercing her left shoulder. She dropped her weapon, crumpling with a scream. I’d never used the shadow sword on a human before. I didn’t know what to expect, if anything. I didn’t expect frost to form on her flesh, or for her eyes to turn white as ice. I didn’t expect her to fall over and shatter into a million pieces, but that’s what I got.
I slid to my knees, letting my sword melt away to nothing. My heart pounded as I stared at the crystallized tissues of the kunoichi, scattered on the floor like a treasure of jewels, mixed in with the stiff shards of what had been her clothing. The fragments captivated me. This can’t be real. This can’t be all that’s left of a life. I closed my eyes, refusing to believe I’d killed her. Fighting back nausea, I stood.
Opening my eyes, I turned to continue. And there was Tukka. His head hung as he glowered at me. There was no welcome in his attitude. His eyes had been lavender lanterns. Now they glowed with an infernal redness. His leathery hide was dirty and pale with bits of straw clinging to it. A spiked collar encircled his massive neck. His jaws dropped to reveal sharp white teeth as he growled. His body tensed, muscles in high relief.
“Tukka, it’s Grace.”
He didn’t seem to hear me or know me. Fortunately, the high polish of the wood floor betrayed his sudden movement. His feet went out from under him. He bounced on the slick floor and scrambled up, giving me a few seconds to realize that I was going to have to fight him or run. I chose to run. The only weapon I had would do more than stop Tukka; it would kill him. That was something I couldn’t live with.
I almost reached the front entrance when he brought me down, barreling into me from behind. His growl was loud as a riding mower. His head hung just above mine, poised to bite. I tried once more, “Tukka, it’s Grace; you know me. I’m the one who gives you chocolate.”
He paused as if some deep buried ghost of a memory were trying to surface. His growl died out. He began to drool. The red of his eyes faded to red-violet.
“That’s right. Remember the chocolate, the creamy smooth, sweetness you love more than anything else?”
For a second, I had him, but his eyes filled with red, becoming orbs of blood. His mouth writhed open, yawning wide enough to bite off my head.
Instinctively, I tore at the walls of space trying to cross over. I failed.
He lunged down.
I squealed—
TWENTY-TWO
SPADA LIBERA: “Keeping your sw
ord free” by space
or leverage so the opponent doesn’t have leverage on it,
or the “advantage of the sword.”
—And slapped the wooden floorboards with my arms, tucking my knees to my chest as I rolled heels-over-head. My knees caught Tukka’s jaw and slammed it shut. My denim leggings snagged on something. I wound up a few feet away, sitting on my knees, facing my best friend—who’d forgotten he’d adopted me into his pack and owed me protection, not a hasty death. My right knee hurt; I’d torn the material there and cut the underlying flesh on one of the spikes in Tukka’s new collar. Blood crept down my legging and smeared the floor.
Tukka shook his head, and brought smoldering, crimson eyes back to me. I knew his next lunge wouldn’t be something I could stop.
But I’d reached the doorway of the shrine. My feet lay across the threshold. I got my hands and the balls of my feet under me and shoved myself backwards. In a crouch, I hopped back onto the wraparound deck.
Tukka lunged, teeth bared.
I pulled on the veil, hoping I’d be able to cross over, though barely clear of the shrine. An electric tingle went through me, a little sluggish, but bringing me across to the realm of ghosts. The lighter gravity served me, letting me bound forward, up to the top of the door as Tukka burst out under me. Missing, he tried to stop, but the slick, polished wood betrayed him and he twirled off the deck, onto the stairs. He tumbled down and regained his footing in the courtyard, spinning back my way.
I crossed back, letting gravity jerk me down to the threshold again. As soon as my feet hit wood, I threw myself back inside the shrine, grabbing both doors, slamming them shut. One door had a heavy wooden beam attached like a dial so it swung along the plane of the wood, dropping into iron prongs on the other door, barring both doors from the inside.
Tukka would be slowed, but I harbored no illusion that the barred doors would hold him out for long. I spun and ran back into the darkened building. Fortunately there wasn’t furniture to stumble over. And I think Taliesina was doing something to my sight. Or maybe it was the half-shadow part of my DNA kicking in. There were layers of blackness, textures to it I’d not seen before. Somehow, I made out a narrow doorway in the forward wall.
As I angled toward the door, I heard a massive body slamming itself into the shrine’s front doors. I didn’t turn to look, praying the bar would hold long enough for me to get out of sight, and break my trail. What Tukka couldn’t see, he’d track by scent. I needed to get out the back, and cross over so I could get airborne and lose him.
I reached the narrow door as a second crash reverberated behind me. At least I didn’t hear splintering wood—yet.
Slipping through, I shut the door behind me, and instead of a back door to the building, I found a flight of stairs leading me up. I hit the stairs, driving my legs furiously. Rapid thuds echoed around me, my footfalls announcing me to anyone who might be waiting upstairs. But what other choice did I have? I rounded at a landing and took another flight. The door upstairs was open a crack, letting a thin line of yellow light spill out. Braking at the upper door, I shed my leather vest, keeping it in hand as I kicked the door open. I flicked the vest across the threshold, watching the fabric fan out.
A blurring katana slashed the vest in half.
Ambush! I’d thought so. One ninja lay dead downstairs. Where there’s one, there’s more.
Like cockroaches, Taliesina said.
A low, sultry female voice spoke from inside the room. “What are you waiting for? Come inside. We’ll play.”
I heard another thud in the distance followed immediately by the rattle of shattered wood. Tukka was back in the shrine. I didn’t have time to play pop-goes-the-weasel with ninja girl. I also didn’t want to use my shadow blade on her. It might be stupid, but I wasn’t yet reconciled to doing that to someone on purpose. It didn’t seem very … clean.
In the back shadows of my mind, I sensed Taliesina rolling her eyes. Really, you’re hopeless. Here, let me…
“Let you what?”
The katana returned, its tip at the edge of the door, easing it wider, inch by aching inch. More light fell over me.
I felt a shockwave pass out of me, something similar to when I seize the veil and pull it past me, crossing over. I didn’t go anywhere, but the hallway lit up as the surrounding air turned phosphorus green. In front of me, the taunting katana froze in place. The kunoichi holding it wore a midnight blue body-stocking. A hood covered her head. She didn’t seem to be breathing.
“You’ve stopped time.”
Taliesina said, Move! I can’t … do this … for long.
I pushed past the door sideways to stay clear of the sword. The room was large and empty except for a back wall where boxes had been piled, gathering dust. A few bare bulbs dangled from the ceiling, sending a gloss across the wooden floor. One back corner had a kitchenette and a breakfast bar. I saw an open door into a small bathroom. At one time, this had been an apartment where someone lived.
I slipped by the kunoichi, went another ten feet, then turned and ran at her from behind.
Getting in range, I pulled both feet up in a jump-kick that landed in the middle of her back. Surprisingly, she went nowhere. It was like hitting a concrete wall. My legs became accordions, knees crashing up against my chest. I landed on my back, stunned by the drop.
The air began to shed its greenish cast, edging into a sickly yellow.
Taliesina’s eyes closed inside my head as she shut down. Binding time had done her in. And I didn’t feel so well either. A sudden fatigue swept through me, keeping company with a howling vortex of bottomless hunger. I had a sudden craving for a box of Shaun’s granola bars, maybe a case or two… My stomach growled to make sure I got the message. I hadn’t felt this drained since Fenn died last month fighting the mothman, and I’d inadvertently fueled his resurrection with my own life force.
Unhindered, time rebooted. The kunoichi was slammed off her feet, yanked from the room, and dragged down the stairs. The kinetic force of my jump hadn’t been wasted after all. I dragged myself up, knowing Tukka was on the way. I had to be gone by the time he got up here, yet I only managed a tottering, awkward run that had none of my usual grace.
Crap, I’m screwed.
There were no other exits, but I had a whole wall of windows shielded by red lacquered shutters. I reached a pair of shutters and shoved with all the fervent might of a newborn fox. It was enough to open the window to morning light. Bringing the scent of the surrounding trees, fresh air rushed in. Fortunately, the structure lacked modern touches such as actual window panes. I didn’t waste time having to smash out any glass, and the lack of shards in the frame meant I could hurriedly scramble up to fill the gap.
Lanterns—formerly unseen in the trees— softly glowed orange, yellow, and white. The trees were close. I eyed one particular branch that I could reach with a little luck.
Wood exploded and rattled like shrapnel. Over my shoulder, I saw Tukka in the doorway. His big curly head swung my way, his nostrils wide, dragging in scents. His eyes locked onto me, still pools of incandescent blood. His barrel chest was heaving with exertion as he dragged in big lungfuls of air. His spiked collar glinted with soft malice as he took a first slow step toward me. The steps came faster.
As I crouched, frozen in the window like a cat burglar caught in the act.
Move! I told myself.
Tearing my eyes away from Tukka, I leaped out into space. My hands slapped against rough bark. I clawed the branch as my legs swung under it, and then my hands came away, ripped free by my weight. Damn. I usually did this in the ghost realm where inertia and gravity were much weaker. I wound up inverted, feet overhead, flying backward into another branch. I winced as the collision sent me into a spin.
The world blurred, and turned into a charcoal sketch as I pulled the veil past me, crossing over. The electric tingle raised the hair on my arms and at the back of my neck, and my nausea actually lessened as I sloughed off the inertia
in a low gravity zone. The hazy sheathing of cold orange flame that covered me was thin and struggling, showing severe aura depletion. Even the golden glow of my underlying skin had gone murky. I dropped lightly onto a third branch near the ground. It bent under me with aching slowness, and I rolled down, spilling into a small tree, a miniature maple. I broke many of its branches while spilling to the ground. I continued to roll until I hit the side of the shrine.
Like hitting the aura of a living thing, contact with the building shocked me, kicking me back toward the damaged maple. I said a few bad words. I hadn’t set off a barrier from the building when I’d crossed over on the front porch, or the place hadn’t made up its mind about me. That seemed to have changed.
Bone weary tiredness brought a dreamlike unreality to my perceptions, and having bent time, my time sense was also out of whack, like I was only halfway inside my own body. Another reason, I thought, not to do this again on an empty stomach. Lying on my back—on broken branches and a few small rocks—I counted my aches, feeling multiple spots across my body where fresh bruises would form by morning.
If you lay here long enough, I told myself, Tukka will come along and eat you, you won’t have to worry about bruises—ever again.
I sat up, leaned forward, hands against the ground, and halfway did a handstand while cocking my legs under me. Kicking back with my feet, I generated enough energy to rock me back, and drop into a deep crouch. Straightening, I moved out to where I could look up at the window I’d leaped from.
Tears and Shadow (kitsune series) Page 17